Waikato and the Chiefs

Nepia

@nepia

But, have a look at the huge number of Waikato origin players who have played for other countries in the professional era. It should astound you.

Would be helpful if you provided the list.

Rapido

The pacific paradise of Tokoroa ..... providing international rugby players since ages ago.

shark

@nepia said in Waikato and the Chiefs:

The issue with the article is that if the players were out there, and Waikato weren't picking them up, then they'd be coming through in other provinces,and if they were good enough for the ABs they'd be making the ABs. The fact they're not tends to point to a dearth of talent at the moment and sometimes schoolboy success doesn't automatically mean those players come through at senior level.

Yep, totally. I posted this story tongue slightly-in-cheek, as if the Chiefs are sabotaging Waikato, and while there's no doubt the lack of Waikato players in the Chiefs really hurts Waikato, the crux of the issue seems to be the inability of the union to develop players beyond the U20 level.

WillieTheWaiter

shame that article didn't go into deeper detail about player numbers.. a part of Waikatos decline is that i reckon there's fcuk all people playing rugby on a Sat anymore - but would love to see some actual stats compared to history and across regions to see if that's true or not.

Bovidae

The online article is more comprehensive than what I had read in the newspaper.

@WillieTheWaiter What has Waikato spent on player salaries in recent years compared to other provinces? I remember reading that it was well below the salary cap, largely due to the historical debt owed by the WRU.

As mentioned it is hard to keep players (and develop them) if there are better offers in Europe/Japan and they are not getting a SR contract.

The Silver Fern

Waikato and the Chiefs